Yes means no on voucher ballot measure

In the Aug. 8, 2018, photo, Save Our Schools Arizona spokeswoman Dawn Penich-Thacker addresses a crowd of volunteers and reporters after submitting more than 110,000 signatures to refer school voucher legislation to the 2018 ballot. /Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times

By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times

It seems a bit out of Alice in Wonderland.

But if you support the goals of those who put Proposition 305 on the ballot — opposition to expansion of vouchers — you have to vote “no” in November.

And if you’re opposed, a “yes” vote is necessary.

The unusual situation arises because of the unusual way the measure got on the ballot in the first place: People unhappy with the Arizona Legislature put it there.

In virtually every election for at least the past three decades, measures get on the ballot one of two ways.

The first, and most frequent, is a group gets together and proposes a change in state law or the Arizona Constitution. If they get enough signatures, the issue goes to voters.

That’s what’s happening with Proposition 127, which seeks to require electric utilities to get half their power from renewable sources by 2030. The same is true of Proposition 126, a plan financed largley by the Arizona Association of Realtors to constitutionally preclude future sales taxes on services.